Back to School Kick Off

What better way to get the ball rolling, than to join a linky party?  So, I'm hooking up with Blog Hoppin' for their Teacher Week.

So here's a bit about me:
1.  This is my super cool family!  My hubby and I have been married for 20 years and our daughters are a Junior in High School and an 8th grader at an arts academy middle school.  We also have two dogs.

2.  I have been teaching second grade at the same elementary school in the San Diego area of Southern California that I attended as a kiddo for the past 9 years.  I previously taught first grade for five years and then second grade for five years at another school in our district.

3.  I recently earned my Master's in Educational Technology online while teaching--boy was that an accomplishment (and if you visited my class that year, I hope you'd agree I should have earned a medal as well--that was some crew!!!)

4.  I once released a baby sea turtle into the ocean in Mexico.  This was a neat experience, turtles are my favorite animals. I just hope the little guy made it; only 1 in 100 survive their maiden voyage and grow to adulthood.

5.  As a kid, I was in an add for Bell helmets.  It helps to have a dad in advertising.  I'm sure I was very cheap compared to what kids get now days!

Getting Ready

Well, it is here, my last week of summer vacation...boo!  How did those weeks go by so fast and I accomplished so little!?!

I have to say I enjoyed a few days out of town with just my hubby, I have some minor plans with my daughters, a trip to the beach, and an afternoon with my retired parents planned before returning to school.  But my mind is mostly on school at this point.  I have been scouring the ads for back to school supplies and sales, finding things on Pinterest and blogs, and reading materials to prep me for the new year. 

In our district, teachers report back to school this Monday; students return on Thursday.  I have to say I love a midweek start!  It gives time to do a little getting to know you, start some basic routines, then the following week, BAM!, let's get started!  Here are our daily routines, now we'll jump into the curriculum.  to me, it is perfect!

So this week I am frantically trying to prepare what I had put off most of the summer...  I went in to my room to clean up and organize things and made a list of items to buy at the local teacher supply store.  I have a ocean theme in my room full of blues and greens that I love!

Finally, after 19 years my district is looking into an actual writing program. I have NEVER felt I taught writing well, and never really had a plan; it was always mix and match and change-it-up every year.  Hooray!  I recently found out that my school is going to pilot the Lucy Calkins writing program (which I had already borrowed from a friend and was panning to buy when it came back in stock) so I have been signed up to do that and had already started reading the materials.  I believe training is also on the horizon but I was very last minute and the coordinator left this week to attend the Lucy Calkins training in New York, so we'll have to see.  What I cannot find, though, is information on HOW teachers set up their Writing Workshop.  I want to know what works with you and your kiddos and what doesn't.  Do you have a file box, a pocket folder in their desks, notebooks.  I'd love to hear your thoughts below.

Also this year, my class has a set of 8 iPads to use every three days.  So my goal is to start integrating more technology.  Again though, I'm at a disadvantage as there has been some personnel movement in our district and the person who said she'd help me set them up and load them with appropriate apps is now a principal (great for her!) and there has been no one hired to replace her.  Of course any tips or great FREE programs that work in your class would be appreciated.

 

image from Apple.com

So there it is, in writing, my goals for this coming school year.  My mind is a whirlwind of thoughts and ideas and I need to pin them down and tackle one thing at a time.  Wishing you all the best as you prepare for the coming year!

Uh oh, here it comes!

I'm not ready I tell you, NOT READY!
You know your summer is coming to an end when you get that infamous envelope in the mail with the district header on it...DUN, DUN, DUN...

"Welcome back to the start of another fantastic school year!" it says...

Well, first of all, whose idea was it to send this THREE weeks before we need to report back??  Can you Please  wait until the sharks are in the water, before you tell me not to swim in it???  Because if I'm not planning to swim yet, it really doesn't affect me !

And, by the way, I know when I have to report back...duh!

OK, OK, I know I need to get my act in gear, so I will accept the impending doom! Actually, like most of you, I'd guess, I have mixed feelings about Back to School:  I get excited about new ideas, new kiddos, a fresh start; but I will sorely miss reading all of the books I want, letting nature wake me up--not an alarm clock, wearing flip flops (if anything) on my feet, and believe it or not, I'll even miss my morning workouts!

It has been a busy week, I enjoyed scrapbooking with my girlfriends for four (yes, four!) days out of town and we had some fun weather while we were there.  Being from Southern California, rain is a novelty--it is true!

My "little" girl came home from camp while I was away so I had to wait a few more days to see her.  I was, of course, happy to see my older daughter and husband too!

And we went to a bonfire with friends. 

I did the usual laundry, grocery shopping,  clean up, read another book, go into the mess I left in my classroom, too, so don't worry it is not all play, no work for this girl either. 
Next week, my hubby and I are planning a trip to San Francisco-just the two of us-for 4 days so I have been getting ready and figuring out schedules for the girls for while we are gone.  I plan to work more on stuff for the school year Monday, and have an appointment and prep for our trip on Tuesday!  After our trip, I suspect it will be all school, all (well, most of) the time.  But for now I will wait until then...

Funny Facebook Friday

So, I thought it would be a fun way to stat the weekend off by sharing how my Facebook Feed was on FIRE with funnyisms today.  I chuckled out loud at all of these. 

 The visual on this one was hilarious!

Thanks Cathy S!

Sometimes...

Thanks Danalynn B!

Oh, the power of language!

(My favorite of the day!)

Thanks Tabitha C.

Disclaimer:  Click on the image to see original source.  I take no responsibility for the content of the above links.  These links merely credit the original source and were posted by my friends.  I am not associated with any of the original sources, nor do I have knowledge of other content.  I just found the photos funny and am giving credit, where credit is due.  None were intended for any other purpose.  Please do not take offense or read any deeper meaning into any of them. 

An Update on "Work it Wednesday"

It looks like The Queen of the First Grade Jungle is having way too much fun with that new baby of hers to post about her fitness journey, but I want to tell you about my progress from last week's

 Unfortunately the scale has made no progress but I think I have... Since we last spoke, I started a walk program from Spark People that suggests I can walk off 10 pounds in 28 days.  Read the article here.  I figure it keeps me moving, so what can it hurt? and if I loose 10 pounds, hip, hip, hooray!! I have been following it for just about a week now, but not quite to a T.  I haven't lost weight yet, and my clothes don't seem to fit differently, but I feel muscles where I didn't before, especially when they hurt!

As fore the walk program, I want to continue to do my Zumba and Pilates each once a week, so I substituted Zumba one day (I figure I get a similar result) and did Pilates on the "rest day" and I add upper body weights to the walk twice a week.  As for the walk, I sometimes move the daily activity around depending on where I walk.  For the hills, I use the treadmill at the gym as there aren't many near my home or where I walk.  I am also not going to be in town for the next few days so tried to save this week's more steady activities to fit where I'll be.  I was hoping for a sunset walk last night (see last post) and this is what I got..Ugh! The weather is not in my favor...  The beach is about 25 minutes from my home and when I left inland it was beautiful and clear.  What happened?

I made another change this week, though.  My husband and I are planning a trip to San Francisco this summer and will be biking to the bridge from Union Square, so today I did the walk "workout" on the bike.  My workout was about three times as far as the trip in San Francisco and we'll probably be stopping along the way, so if I can do that, I don't think I'll have a problem on our trip!

I'm looking forward to my girl scrapbooking trip this weekend and plan to keep up my walk "plan" even though we SIT all day long to scrap!  I may not get many steps on the Fitbit, but I will keep walking!  How are you doing on your fitness journey?  Keep it up!!

Its All About Me!

So this week, its all about me!  This is week 4 of summer vacation--how did that happen?!?  Before I really dive in to all that will be "Back to School", I am going to make this week all about me.  So I started the weekend spending time with girlfriends scrapbooking.  In case you didn't know, scrapbooking is a hobby of mine.  I love looking back on my family and our adventures, it is a creative outlet, and I can spend time with friends.  Of course I'm behind on that too-how did my kids get so big?  What happened to the little selves they used to be?? 

Then we took my younger girl to church camp on Sunday.  As a youth I spent one week each summer at the same camp and it was fun to hear the excitement and anticipation she and her car buddy friend discussed on our hour and a half drive to the local mountains.  Oh, I remember those days!

Anyway I'm one child short and my oldest is less social and keeps to herself most of the time, so I'll need to entertain myself.  That means I won't be taxiing her everywhere for the next few days either-I can do what I wish!

So I started this week with a dentist appointment (a necessary, but "me" activity) and will be sure to hit the treadmill/walk or exercise class everyday this week.  (See the Work It post from Wednesday)  On Friday I will be heading out for a long weekend of scrapbooking at my friend's "vacation" home in the desert and there's plenty to do in between.  Wait, I have friends with "vacation homes"?!  So, I need to organize my scrapbook materials and gather my supplies for the weekend and will likely need to make a trip to the craft store for anything I think I may need while I'm "creating".  I also need to organize and print more photos for the trip--one can never have too many photos to scrap and I only print when I plan to use them!

Additionally, I want to do some reading by the pool, pick up some things for my upcoming trip with my husband (no kids!), get a pedicure, organize my closet, get ice cream, visit the herb farm, catch a good sunset (that hasn't worked out well, yet), and get a massage.  How's that for me time??

Wednesday Link Up

  

So, I'm a little late to the party, but I thought I'd link up with Katie from Queen of the First Grade Jungle for:

PS Looks like Katie hasn't posted yet...this is last week's link and not an official link-up.  Boo.

 

Week 3  

This is my 3rd week of vacation so Katie and I are not quite in sync.  Although I have not been very good at making progress size-wise, I think I have done a pretty good job becoming more active.  I am active for 50-60 minutes four times a week, which is double what I was doing when school let out in June.

I enjoy Pilates classes, Zumba, weights and cardio at the YMCA, and walking (usually around town at the touristy spots or the beach). Usually one of each per week.

My walk on Monday evening was at beautiful Balboa Park. I was hoping for a sunset shot but the clouds rolled in about an hour before I got there.

I also wear my Fitbit daily but since I have been in my swimsuit lately and it can't get wet, I am down on steps this summer.  I am frustrated with this because although I enjoy lounging around and reading tons over the summer (and jumping in the pool in between) I HAVE been more active.  Also, Pilates and weights don't count as steps--you actually have to be "stepping"!

My goal next week is to tell you all that I have kept better track of my food intake and made a negative weight change.  I am hoping that this link-up will make me more accountable.  I am not competitive so I'm not a big fan of "challenges" but if you want to be a Fitbit friend, I am willing.  :)  Here's to a healthy week!